$40 million upgrades announced for iconic Leichhardt Oval

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Sydney’s historic Leichhardt Oval, home to the Sydney FC Women’s team, will be receiving a $40 million upgrade to its facilities, ensuring the safety and comfort for competitors and fans into the future.

The $40 million investment will draw on the Inner West Council’s Leichardt Oval Masterplan and includes upgrades such as:

  • New female-friendly change rooms.
  • Increased seating capacity of 3,000. (20,000 > 23,000)
  • A new northern grandstand.

The Commonwealth, State and Local Governments have formed a funding partnership to secure the future of Leichhardt Oval. The Commonwealth is committing $20 million to the project, with the NSW Government and the Inner West Council investing $10 million each towards the upgrade.

Leichhardt Oval required a big investment with the outdated, crumbling infrastructure becoming an issue for tenant teams and their local supporters.

The stadium is on track to host 120 sporting fixtures in 2024, including both men’s and women’s matches across various codes which underpins its importance on local sport in NSW.

Sydney FC Chief Executive Mark Aubrey expressed his excitement for the future of the ground and was also invited to be on the design phase committee of the project.

“It’s great to be involved in the design phase of the upgrade as we continue to build Sydney FC and our Women’s game, and work towards a stable home ground for Sydney FC’s Women,” Aubrey said in an interview.

“Our Women’s crowds last season totalled over 50,000 and our semi-final had 7,000 fans inside the ground which shows there’s a huge appetite for Women’s sport, so this injection of funds is very welcome.”

Sydney FC Captain Natalie Tobin also spoke during the announcement of the upgrade about how this will directly improve the women’s game.

“These upgrades are long overdue, and the facilities will help female athletes perform better and increase the growth of our game,” Tobin added in a statement.

“It will help improve the growth of our Women’s game at all levels and increase our ability to impact our local community and girls football.”

Leichhardt Oval has become a hub and home for women’s sport hosting the rugby league, cricket and football, and this upgrade is indicative of the long-term commitment by the NSW Government to increase the participation of women and young girls in sport.

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Victory unites with Roasting Warehouse in culture-led partnership

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The Melbourne-based anf family-owned business will join the Victory family, uniting two institutions which represent the city’s culture and identity.

A partnership with local roots

As the newest partner of Melbourne Victory, Roasting Warehouse joins forces with a vital part of the city’s sporting landscape.

The club’s Managing Director, Caroline Carnegie, outlined why the partnership bears so much value to both parties.

“We are excited to collaborate with Roasting Warehouse, a community-oriented destination for high-quality coffee, proud of its foundations in Melbourne,” said Carnegie via official media release.

“Football and coffee sit at the epicentre of Melbourne’s culture. The two go hand-in-hand, consistently at the centre of the conversation that stirs Melburnians, which is no different to the conversation sport and Melbourne Victory stir in the State.”

Indeed, this is a partnership which combines the identity, passions and culture of an entire city, therefore giving it the foundations required for long-term, mutual success.

Representing the best of Melbourne

Both Victory and Roasting Warehouse are hugely successful in their respective industries. They are institutions with community-oriented philosphies, who pride themselves on craft and quality.

“We’re incredibly proud to partner with Melbourne Victory, a club that represents the heart, passion, and ambition of Melbourne,” revealed Roasting Warehouse Head of Brand, Alexander Paraskevopoulos.

“As a Melbourne-founded, family-run business, supporting a team that means so much to the local community feels very natural for us.”

Furthermore, through their high-quality blends, Roasting Warehouse will look to prepare Victory’s players and staff for high performances on the pitch as the seasons nears completion.

But this is about far more than just fueling athletes.

This is a partnership which embodies and unites two of Melbourne’s greatest strengths and cultural markers – a connection forged from the city’s very own DNA.

 

For more information about Roasting Warehouse, click here.

Football NSW supports Female Coaches CPD as Women’s Football Surges

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Football NSW has used the platform of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup to deliver a targeted professional development workshop for female coaches, bringing together scholarship recipients for an evening of structured learning and direct engagement with elite women’s football.

Held at ACPE last month, the session was open to female coaches who received C or B Diploma scholarships through Football NSW in 2025. Coaching accreditation carries a financial cost that disproportionately affects women, who are less likely to have their development subsidised by clubs or associations operating in underfunded community football environments. Scholarship access changes that equation at the point where many women exit the pathway.

Facilitated by Football NSW Coach Development Coordinator Bronwyn Kiceec, the workshop focused on goal scoring trends from the tournament’s group stage, with coaches analysing attacking patterns and exploring how those insights could translate into their own environments. The group then attended the quarter-final between South Korea and Uzbekistan at Stadium Australia.

The structure of the evening mattered as much as its content. Female coaches in community football rarely have access to elite competition environments as a professional resource. The gap between the level at which most women coach and the level at which the game is analysed and discussed tends to reinforce itself. Placing scholarship recipients inside a major tournament, as participants rather than spectators, closes that gap in a way that a classroom session cannot.

Female coaches remain significantly underrepresented across all levels of the game in Australia. The pipeline that will change that depends not only on accreditation access but on the professional networks, peer relationships and exposure to elite environments that male coaches have historically taken for granted.

The workshop forms part of Football NSW’s ongoing commitment to developing female coaches through scholarships and structured learning opportunities.

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